What can I do to start building my list from scratch?
OK, let’s say you’re new to list building and you want to start building your list. You are wondering to yourself , how do I get it started? Before you do anything you will need hosting, someone with good reviews like Hostgator and a good auto-responder that is user friendly like Aweber. NEVER get these services free, always use mainstream paid services. I’ve heard more horror stories about the mentor that supplied the hosting and auto responder and then you decided to get out and couldn’t take anything with you. So all your efforts were all for nothing and you are starting over again. So don’t do it!!!
Now that you have those two services you need to put a sign-up form on your website or blog giving a free report of some kind in exchange for their name and email. Just like the one to the right of this post. That’s just one way to start your list but it is going to be rather slow until you drive traffic to your site. There are two other ways you start your list from zero a little bit faster.
JV Giveaways…
You can use JV Giveaways to start your list but it can be a long time before you can get 500 subs to swap with. When I’m using JV Giveaways to build my list up I will join 4 to 6 at a time. I will try to find the ones that pay 100% commissions on upgrades and OTO’s (one time offers). I do this because I will upgrade in the event as long as it is $17 or less. I will pay more but only if I know the event holder and how the event went previously.
The advantage to upgrading in the JV Giveaway is that you get to submit more than one free gift, submit OTO’s and submit text ads. You get higher commissions on anybody that upgrades using your affiliate link and the two most important reasons to upgrade, your gifts show on the random gift page along with showing closer to the front of the event. This will give you greater exposure that will get more new subscribers.
Solo Ads…
Another way is to buy a solo ad from someone that has a larger list and this is a way to build your list on the fast track. Solo ads can cost from .30 to .45 per unique click. Say if you had a good converting offer that converts around 50% you can get 500 subs with a 1000 click solo ad for $300 to $450. Just be careful and make sure the clicks only come from them mailing to their list and not sending you clicks from TE’s (Traffic Exchanges) or safe lists because these kind of clicks DO NOT CONVERT. You can also buy smaller solo ads from some marketers if the 1000 click is not in your budget. You can get 100 clicks for $35 and up.
No matter which of the techniques you use, a good sales funnel should be in place to recover some of your costs . If you know how, you can build one yourself or you can pay someone to build one for you. I build sales funnels and charge an average price of $297 and up depending on how detailed it is and that is the going price within the network I’m in. I have seen the same sales funnels go for $597 and up, so just use your best judgment when shopping for one.
So now you have the three ways to build your list from scratch, putting a sign-up form on your blog or website, JV Giveaways and solo ads. Once you have a list of 500 plus, doors start to open and your list will grow much faster.
Hi Dennis,
Nice blog man! Nice entry also. As far as list building goes, I just wanted to say a few things. There are many ways to build a list and get results but the ONE thing that marketers need to realize (particularly new ones) is to be PATIENT and CONSISTENT.
My business grew 22.7 times its size in 2010 from merely duplicating what was working. Instead of doing 1 ad swap per day, I started doing 2. Instead of entering just ONE giveaway, I entered several. Just those tactics alone were HUGE for me personally.
Also, always honing your skill for a sales funnel and being willing to “test” it and tweak it is crucial as well for “newbies”. You CAN and SHOULD be making money while giving stuff away, regardless of how you are doing so.
Just a pep talk to those of you reading that the stuff you read about list building IS true..but YOU have to get involved, do the work and be smart enough to realize that you are planting the seeds NOW so stick around for the harvest! It is WAY worth it in the long run
Sincerely,
Craig Raphael